Wheel Alignment

[walfreyydo]

Im getting weird vibes about this shop, just sayin, you may want to take it elsewhere.

[NCGermerican]

Im getting weird vibes about this shop, just sayin, you may want to take it elsewhere.

I am as well. It's a shame because they are one of the few euro indy shops in the area that can/will work on 944's. Even though I do most of my own work, there are just some things I need a shop to do (mount/balance tires and alignments).

I may bite the bullet and take it to the dealer. Porsche of Southpoint (Chapel Hill, NC) is one of the few Porsche Classic certified dealerships in the country. I'll call them and see what they say. My bet is an alignment is above $500....

[walfreyydo]

I have a pretty good relationship with a local, non-porsche mom and pop shop here in the small town I live in. They are great and I have built a good relationship with them. They know I am a hobbyist mechanic and that I track/autox the car so they are more than willing to set the alignment to the exact specifications I want. I also took the time to show them the special tool for the rear toe/camber and explained that they need to be set together, as well as the locking bolt for the rack so there is no confusion. Overall, they did a great job.

All that said, the point is, you dont have to take it to a porsche specialist, just a competent and experienced mechanic thats willing to listen and fully understand/research how to set the alignment. Usually the older mechanics are more familiar with the rear spring plate design, especially if they know or have worked on other german cars.

If you can build a good relationship with them, even better! I take all my wheels and tires there to mount/balance as well as take my wifes car in there on occasion for whatever work needs done. Its a good symbiotic relationship. They even run my parts through their parts washer for me for free now!

[zooklm1]

Is your car lowered? (An otherwise stock ride height car, should not need camber plates as the OEM eccentric bolt on the shock should allow enough adjustment). However, if its lowered, this makes sense (although I would expect the rear camber to also run negative, which is curious to me)

Front caster and toe appears to be the biggest adjustment they made. The rear was already in spec before the alignment. Again, likely the centering pin wasn't installed during front toe surgery adjustment. Basically when you adjust the tie rod, the steering wheel will move to compensate unless its locked down.

It's funny you asked that. To my knowledge, it's the stock ride height. The previous 2 owners of the car, back to around 2002 (from the records I have) were....at the age where I doubt they lowered the car - and there are no records of it. They look like stock springs to me. The only upgrades are the koni shocks front and rear.

However, the shop told me the car WAS lowered. I told them it wasn't but they kept saying it was. It "looks" lowered because I have a larger diameter wheel/tire combo, plus the offset of the wheels puts them flush with the fenders. So it does "look" lower, but I'm 99.9% positive it's stock springs in the front.

Measure the height from the ground to the bottom of the fender lip at the top of the arch, for both the front and rear. That should give you an indication. I think my car is stock and the height is 24.875 to 25 inches, consistent front and back. There is a recommended method in the Porsche shop manual and when I did the measurements and calculation, I came up with the front = 1.1”, rear=0.75”. I had not further researched those numbers to see if they were stock, though.